Ritsu stood at the door of what was hopefully the right apartment address, frozen in a moment of hesitation. Would he even be home? Should he have called first? Is he really going to be up for spending his summer with…this guy?

Well, he'd definitely be home. It was the first Sunday morning after the end of the school year. Around this time, everyone likes to take it easy. Why would he be any different?

Ritsu knocked and waited. There was some noise and fumbling behind the door.

"Just a second!" A rather cheery voice called out. Ritsu felt his stomach sink.

The door opened and out came a boy dressed in an obnoxiously bright pink and green shirt and ripped jeans, with a bright smile on his face. And Ritsu immediately regretted everything.

Yeah. This was a mistake.

"Brother-kun?" said the boy in surprise.

"Hi… Teru-san." The restraint and discomfort in Ritsu's voice was appallingly obvious, but Teruki's smile and upbeat attitude seemed completely unaffected.

"What a surprise!" He said with joy, "I wasn't expecting company today! Please, come in!"

Even worse, Ritsu thought, He can't take a hint.

Teruki held the door open, leaving Ritsu no way out. It was much too late to turn back now. He'd just have to tell him. He'd just have to say it. He should have written a will before coming here.

"Sorry about the mess!" said Teruki. "If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared properly." What mess? Ritsu thought as he took off his shoes and looked around the room. There seemed to be some left over breakfast on the table, but that was about it. The rest of the room was almost sparkling clean. It was hard for Ritsu to wrap his head around. Just who was this boy?

"Have a seat anywhere, I was just brewing some tea." Ritsu wondered what Teruki meant by "anywhere" since there was only a small coffee table with two chairs in the room, but he wasn't about to nitpick Teru's sloppy choice of words.

Teru poured two cups of tea and sat down across from Ritsu at the coffee table. "So what brings you here?" he asked, blowing on his cup.

You got yourself into this, Ritsu. No going back now.

"Teru-san…" he started, "I guess I'll get to the point." Ritsu took a sip of his tea and looked back at Teruki, whose eyes were locked onto his, fully attentive. This guy…

"The truth is, I'm not sure if I can trust you." So much for getting straight to the point, but Ritsu felt the need to test this boy. He had to make sure if he was the right person to ask.

And much to Ritsu's annoyance, the comment he made didn't seem to have much of an effect on Teru, who was still showing the same smile from before.

"Trust me?" he said, with some condescension in his voice. "Brother-kun, we've fought together before on multiple occasions. I would think that standoffish attitude of yours would at least subside a little bit."

I'll show you standoffish, bastard.

"Maybe that's true," Ritsu said, trying to compose himself. "But I know almost nothing about you. We've pretty much only talked to each other when we were in a near-death situation! That doesn't really give me much to go off of. I know nothing about you, or your relationship to my brother. As far as I'm concerned, you're just some random stranger who goes to another school."

"You're brother never told you about me?" Teru's smile was gone. But for some reason, Ritsu wasn't satisfied with this. Teru's expression looked a bit more melancholy, but it was hard to tell. His eyes were nearly impossible to read.

But it seemed like Ritsu found his weak point.

"Not exactly," Ritsu said. "But I've put some of the pieces together."

"Oh?" Teruki said, his expression turning more serious. Ritsu liked that expression better.

"It's just a little suspicious, is all," Ritsu started, holding back a smirk. He's really got Teruki on the ropes now. "One night i come visit my brother and he's moping about his powers, and I turn on the TV and it just so happens that an entire school building was lifted up into the sky."

A few drops of sweat appeared by Teru's eye. This was good. Ritsu kept going.

"A little while later I'm mistaken for this 'White T Poison' guy who apparently beat up someone by your exact name."

Teru froze in place. His expression turned from unreadable to entirely transparent. Ritsu could see his guilt clear as day. And it was so, so satisfying.

Until it changed again. The smile was back, and it was more sinister this time, like the smile he showed Ritsu the first day they met.

"I suppose that's a good reason not to trust me," he started. "But couldn't I say the same thing to you?"

Ritsu clenched his teeth. Teruki seemed to immediately catch on to what this was. Now Ritsu was no longer on the offense.

"Tell me," Teruki started again. "Did you come here to learn more about what happened that day? Because I'll tell you if you want. But I'd really like to know more about what you were doing going around by your brother's name, beating up on the weak."

It was over. Ritsu had to admit defeat to himself. This conversation couldn't go any further.

"No, that's not why I came." Ritsu had to restrain himself from punching Teru in his smug face. This smile was by far the worst one. But, in a way, it was deserved. Teru won. Ritsu had to accept this.

"The truth is that I need help and you're my last resort."

"Do you think calling me a last resort is going to make me want to help you?" Teru joked.

"Well, you're actually my only resort. You're the only one who can help me."

Ritsu took a deep breath.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Ritsu said, "You're an amazing fighter. Your psychic powers are some of the best I've seen."

"I'm flattered, Brother-kun," said Teru, "But I think you and I both know I'm not the best out there."

"I'm not looking for my brother's kind of power!" snapped Ritsu. Teru went silent, realizing he struck a nerve that might have gone a bit too deep. Ritsu took a deep breath and continued, "I don't even think he knows how his powers work. But you're a bit different, Hanazawa. I think your powers are a bit similar to mine."

"So you want to get stronger?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you asking me?"

"What?"

"You just don't seem to like me that much. What about that redhead kid? He's probably about as talented as I am, and you actually seem to like him."

"Actually, he's the reason I came here." Teru looked confused. It was time to stop beating around the bush. Ritsu took another breath and looked Teru dead in the eyes.

"I want to kick Suzuki's ass."